Posey may be forced into painful trade at Winter Meetings due to SF Giants chairman

With the SF Giants seemingly unwilling to spend big on a free agent pitcher, president of baseball operations Buster Posey really only has one option to improve the starting rotation in a major way which could lead to a heartbreaking trade.

Giants chairman Greg Johnson has made it clear all along that the team plans to stay away from those risky nine-figure deals for free agent pitchers. That does not mean the Giants will not land an ace this winter, but it may very well mean they'd have to part with top prospect Bryce Eldridge to do so.

SF Giants may be forced to part with Bryce Eldridge in heartbreaking Winter Meeting trade

Eldridge is the most valuable trade chip the Giants have entering the Winter Meetings which begin tomorrow in Orlando. He is that shiny prospect that would get teams very excited and make them listen to potential trade offers.

The Giants could dangle him to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Joe Ryan which could pique their interest even though they reportedly plan to hold onto their star players.

But Ryan is not the only ace out there who could be had via trade. Other names like Hunter Greene of the Cincinnati Reds, Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers, and MacKenzie Gore of the Washington Nationals would all provide a big boost to the rotation but those teams may not listen unless Eldridge is included in a deal.

The Giants probably do not want to part with Eldridge. They know the potential he has and in a dream scenario he would be an absolute masher in the middle of the order, cranking homers into McCovey Cove for the next decade-plus.

But after the Giants just got rid of Marco Luciano, a former top prospect who was seen to have unlimited upside, one cannot help but wonder if they would be better off cutting bait while Eldridge still has a ton of value.

It is a sad fact that many of San Francisco's first-round draft picks have not panned out in the last decade. Since 2011 the only two who have been solid big league contributors for the Giants are Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey.

Perhaps that means the Giants are due to have a top prospect who actually delivers on all of the hype, but if the Giants have learned anything it may be that they are better off selling high rather than waiting around to see if a top prospect is as good as they hope.

There is also the strange fit Eldridge would represent on the team after the Rafael Devers acquisition. The two could share time at first base and designated hitter so it could work, but it is still a bit awkward.

This will really come down to how aggressive Posey wants to be in upgrading the rotation. If he thinks the rotation needs another ace-level arm, then trading Eldridge is likely the only way he can do that. But if he thinks the team can survive by adding a couple of affordable free agent pitchers then he will most likely hold on to Eldridge.

But there is no question that any potential trade involving Eldridge would hurt since there has been so much chatter and buzz around him. But that may be the painful decision Posey has to make with Johnson not wanting a pricey deal for a free agent starter.